Samenvatting

Objective: Mindfulness Based Stress reduction has shown to provide benefits to patients suffering from chronic diseases. Since literature about its effects on HIV/AIDS patients is limited, the objective of the present review is to investigate whether Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction is an effective adjuvant treatment option to improve indices of immune function (CD4 and NK count) and psychological well-being of HIV/AIDS patients by summarizing the current literature on the topic.
Method: The electronic databases PubMed, the Cochrane Library and Medline were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials and clinical controlled trials. The included literature addressing the effects of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction on immune function and psychological well-being underwent a methodological quality assessment by means of the PEDro scale. Moreover, a best evidence synthesis was performed in order to evaluate the evidence on the present topic.
Results: The search revealed three randomized controlled trials and one clinical controlled trial of good and fair quality. Two trials address the effects of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction on immune function and on psychological well-being, while the remaining two analyse either the effects on immune function or on psychological well-being only. Outcomes reveal strong evidence for the effectiveness of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction in the improvement of immune function and limited evidence for its effects on the enhancement of psychological well-being of HIV/AIDS patients.
Conclusion: There are promising results about the effects of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction on immune function in HIV/AIDS patients. However, further and more extensive research is required to analyse its beneficial outcomes on psychological well-being and to substantiate the current findings.